Natural gas isn’t southwestern Pa.’s future by lou Tierno III, May 29, 2025, Special to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette
In early April, thee large companies announced a new strategic alliance to
develop a natural gas-fired power generation facility in Washington
County’s Fort Cherry Development District, billing it as a win for job
creation and industrial growth.
The companies — Liberty Energy Inc., Imperial Land Corporation and Range
Resources — promised a modern facility using Marcellus Shale gas and
“modular, scalable, lower-emissions” power systems.
The project is not a leap forward for southwestern Pennsylvania but a slide
back into deeper fossil fuel dependency at the expense of our economic and
environmental future.
Wrong kind of innovation
This is not the kind of innovation our region needs. We’re home to a
skilled workforce, advanced manufacturing, and clean energy entrepreneurs.
We can lead in the 21st-century energy economy.
But this new project is a legacy model of development, prioritizing fossil
fuel profits over long-term prosperity, community health, and true
resilience for local businesses. It locks our region into another
generation of carbon-intensive infrastructure just as global markets shift
rapidly toward renewables.
This project is flawed on two fronts. First, it undermines Pennsylvania’s
climate commitments and ignores the clean energy transition that is already
well underway. Second, it poses real risks to our region’s economic
competitiveness and long-term prosperity.
First, Instead of aligning with Pennsylvania’s own Climate Action Plan,
which aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050, it runs counter
to it. A methane-powered plant is out of step with that vision and is a
missed opportunity to build the kind of energy system that forward-looking
businesses are actively seeking.
The Fort Cherry Development District, located in Robinson Township, could
be a national model for regenerative development. Imperial Land
Corporation, the developer, states that the district is “a prime location
for future industrial demand growth” and highlights its proximity to the
Ohio River, the city of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh airport.
While these are important advantages, positioning it as a methane-powered
industrial zone misses a critical opportunity to attract businesses seeking
a truly sustainable home.
Shale gas is not clean energy
Let’s be clear: Marcellus Shale gas is not clean energy. Its continued
extraction contributes to air pollution and water contamination, and
worsens our climate crisis. Proponents of the plant point to economic
benefits, including the potential to attract energy-intensive industries
like data centers. But the region’s recent history tells a more sobering
story.
A 2020 study by the Ohio River Valley Institute found that despite booming
natural gas extraction, many Appalachian counties saw job losses and
stagnant GDP compared to national trends. Communities near fracking sites
continue to bear the health and environmental burdens, while the promised
economic renaissance has largely failed to materialize.
Moreover, clean energy is no longer a fringe alternative — it’s the
economic mainstream. In 2023, over 80% of new power capacity added globally
came from renewables, with solar and wind now among the cheapest sources of
electricity in the U.S., according to BloombergNEF. And a 2022 report from
the Clean Energy Buyers Association found that over 300 companies,
including Amazon, Google, and Meta, are demanding 24/7 carbon-free energy
to power data centers and operations.
Many avoid locating in fossil-fuel-heavy regions altogether. Projects like
the Fort Cherry gas plant could actually deter the very companies they hope
to attract.
New fossil infrastructure like this also risks becoming a stranded asset.
The International Energy Agency has projected over $1 trillion in stranded
fossil fuel assets by 2050 if current investment trends continue. Building
another natural gas plant today risks locking businesses and taxpayers into
an expensive, outdated system.
Across Southwestern Pennsylvania, we’re seeing the rise of local solar
cooperatives, energy efficiency training programs, clean manufacturing
pilots, and circular economy startups. These initiatives don’t just reduce
emissions — they create good-paying jobs, improve public health, and keep
wealth rooted in local communities. They are also attracting investment and
talent.
If we want to build a future-ready economy that attracts data centers,
advanced manufacturing facilities, and industries of the future — the very
sectors this development hopes to attract — it should invest in energy
solutions that match its sustainability goals: 100% renewable power,
microgrid resilience, and carbon-free infrastructure.
These are no longer aspirational goals — they are baseline requirements for
many of the nation’s most dynamic companies.
It could be a model
Economic development does not have to sacrifice community well-being or our
climate’s future. The Fort Cherry site could be a national model for
regenerative development — if we align it with the clean energy transition
already underway.
Agencies like the state’s Departments of Environmental Protection and
Community and Economic Development, and economic leaders like the Allegheny
Conference on Community Development, must weigh these decisions not only
against short-term gains, but against the long-term costs to climate,
competitiveness, and community well-being, and ultimately reject projects
that run counter to the state’s climate commitments and long-term economic
resilience.
Lou Tierno III is director of the Pennsylvania and Appalachian Sustainable
Business Networks.